Historical Fiction Books for Middle School

by Linda Sue Park | 12th Century Korea

I wouldn't have thought a story about a Korean potter and his apprentice in the 12th century would be so gripping, but I couldn't put this Newbery Award Winner down. I read it all in one sitting and then passed it on to my middle schoolers, who also loved it!

By Celeste Lim | 12th Century China

If you liked Disney's Mulan, then you'll enjoy this more historical tale of a poor, young illiterate female in a rural village in China who is sold to a house of courtesans. She endures a lot of hardship, but it's ultimately a wonderful and empowering coming of age story.

By Diane Magras | 13th Century Scotland

I LOVE this two book series! It's a fast paced story about Drest, the only daughter of the Mad Wolf of the North, the leader of a war band. When her father and brothers are taken captive by invading knights, it's up to Drest to rescue them from the castle.

This is storytelling at its finest! I especially loved how the author weaved so many historical facts about feudal village life in medieval Scotland into the action packed tale.

By Karen Cushman | 1290 Medieval England

Written in the form of diary entries, this hilarious book about a young girl who resists being ladylike and yearns for independence rather than an arranged marriage is so fun to read! It offers a lot of realistic details about medieval life, but it can be tricky to read with the medieval language and includes some mature themes - best for the 12+ crowd.

By Avi | 14th Century England

This is middle grade historical fiction at its finest! Crispin is a thirteen-year-old peasant boy who flees his tiny medieval village after he is wrongly accused of a crime. He's been declared a "wolf's head," meaning he can be killed on sight.

The story is set just before the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and provides a lot of fascinating historical details as readers root for young Crispin to clear his name (3 book series).

by Gail Carson Levine | 15th Century Spain

In the 15th century, life for Spain's Jews was precarious - like a ceiling made of eggshells ready to fall apart at any moment. This fantastic story follows Paloma, the granddaughter of an important and wealthy figure in Spain's Jewish community. As she travels with her grandfather to meet King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Paloma realizes just how dangerous Spain really is for the Jewish people.

This phenomenal story of adventure and bravery is filled with historical facts about day-to-day life and the social order of the time.

By Caroline Starr Rose | 1587 English Colony in America

This is a beautiful novel in verse about the 117 men, women and children that arrived on Roanoke Island to start a new English colony. This group of people is often referred to as the "Lost Colony" because by 1590 they had disappeared without a trace.

In this fictional tale, narrated by 12-year-old Alis, the author imagines what happened to the colonists and the Native Americans they met on the island.

By Gary L. Blackwood | 1601 England

We loved reading aloud this historical fiction series about a young orphan whose master sends him to steal Hamlet from The Lord Chamberlain's Men. But, once he meets Shakespeare and the actors in the troupe, he doesn't want to steal from them. Can he change his fate?

By Elizabeth George Speare | 1687 Colonial Connecticut

This classic historical fiction won the Newbery Medal in 1959, but it's still worth reading. 16-year-old Kit Tyler is forced to leave her home on the island of Barbados to join family she has never met in colonial Connecticut. She is having a hard time fitting in with her new community when she meets another outsider, an older women named Hannah Tupper who the colonists believe to be a witch.

By Esther Forbes | 1773 Revolutionary America

This book has it all - historical details, but also action, romance, and intrigue. I loved reading about 14-year-old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith who, after being tragically injured, takes a job as a horse-boy riding for a patriotic newspaper. This story may be about the historical events leading up to the Boston Tea Party and the first shots fired at Lexington, but it's also a captivating read.

By Laurie Halse Anderson | 1775 Revolutionary America

There are no better fiction books about the American Revolutionary War than this three book series. These books are phenomenal! The first book in the series is told from the perspective of 13-year-old Isabel, an enslaved girl who was promised her freedom upon the death of her owner but instead becomes the property of a malicious New York couple who are not supporters of the American Revolution.

This is historical fiction from a unique and wonderful perspective. If it was up to me, this series would be required reading!

By Avi | 1776 Revolutionary America

After young Sophia Calderwood witnesses the execution of Nathan Hale in British occupied New York City, she is determined to help the revolutionary cause. She becomes a maid in the home of General Clinton, the commander of British forces, so that she can spy. Lot's of rich historical detail and an exciting plot!

By Laurie Halse Anderson | 1793 Philadelphia

This is a gripping story about one of history's most devastating outbreaks of yellow fever in America.

By Ann Clare Lezotte | 1805 Martha's Vineyard

An exciting plot with kidnappers and intrigue, but what I loved most was all of the history about the Deaf community and culture of Martha's Vineyard in the 1800's.

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley | Early 1800's Virginia (Slavery)

History is full of dark corners but this remarkable book tackles one of the worst aspects of United States history, with extraordinary skill, for young readers. This is historical fiction of the highest quality.

The book tells the story of Jefferson's children with enslaved Sally Hemmings. It spans twenty-two years and is narrated by Beverly, Sally Hemmings oldest living child and Beverly's two younger brothers, Maddy and Peter.

There isn't an easy way to teach kids about slavery but this story, told from the perspective of kids enslaved by their own father, a man famous for fighting for liberty, is nuanced, well researched, and accessible for middle grade readers. This is a must read book!

By Louise Erdrich | 1847 United States (Ojibwa)

This is a wonderful historical fiction series about a 19th-century Ojibwa family living on an island on Lake Superior. Erdrich is a fantastic writer and storyteller and this series is absolutely charming. It's an excellent alternative/companion to the Little House on the Prairie books.

By Avi | 1849 California (Gold Rush)

An exciting historical adventure about a 13-year-old girl who stows away on a ship to seek gold in California. It's a real page turner!

By Sid Fleischman | 1849 California (Gold Rush)

I loved reading this funny classic book about the California Gold Rush aloud with my kids. Jack, joined by his trusty butler, finds trouble around every corner and it's laugh-out-loud funny.

By Christopher Paul Curtis | 1858 Southern United States (Slavery)

This is an intense page turner! A few weeks after the death of Charlie Bobo, Cap'n Buck, the overseer of a large plantation and one of children's literature's most terrifying characters, forces Bobo's 12-year-old son to help track down some folks accused of stealing property. What Little Charlie doesn't realize at first is that the "property" is human beings and the "thieves" are the fugitives themselves. It's an incredible story about good vs. evil and a young boy struggling to do the right thing.

Note: this book is initially difficult to read because it is written in dialect, but it gets easier to read as you go along.

By Kate Hannigan | 1859 Chicago

This is fun historical fiction about Kate Warne, the first female private eye employed by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, and her fictional orphaned niece Nell.

Read along as these pioneering women, Kate and Nell, successfully protect Abraham Lincoln from an early assassination attempt and uncover information about the Underground Railroad while they solve mysteries. There are also fun ciphers embedded in letters throughout the book.

By Jerdine Nolen | 1861 American Civil War

This is an emotional story about 12-year-old Callie Wilcomb and her family. As the Civil War begins, Callie and her family join other enslaved Black people who unite at Fortress Monroe, Virginia in pursuit of freedom.

I had never heard of Fort Monroe before I read this book and was fascinated by the history of this fort in a Confederate state that was able to remain in Union hands through the Civil War.

By Rodman Philbrick | 1863 American Civil War

I didn't know you could write a laugh-out-loud funny book about the Civil War while still acknowledging the real evils of slavery, but Philbrick has done it and it's perfect for middle school readers!

Homer and his older brother are orphans that live with their cruel uncle in rural Maine. When the terrible uncle sells Homer's brother to the Union Army as a replacement for a richer neighbor, 12-year-old Homer runs away to rescue his brother. But before he can reach the Union Army, he is kidnapped by slave-catchers. It's an excellent story and a very fun read.

By Paul Fleischman | American Civil War

This is a collection of stories told by 16 fictional characters about different Civil War experiences. Told by a colonel, a general, an enslaved woman, a free Black man, and more, this offers wonderful perspectives about the American Civil War.

By Linda Sue Park | 1880 Dakota Territory

I absolutely LOVE this book! Similar to the Little House on the Prairie books, but told from the perspective of a girl with a Chinese mother and a White father. It's a whole new perspective!

I highly recommend this one.

By Caroline Starr Rose | 1887 Ohio

Every time I read anything about how medicine was practiced in the past, I feel profoundly grateful to be alive now! But while this book reminded me once again to be thankful for modern science, I was also completely captivated by this sinister story about Dr. Kingsbury and the Miraculous Tonic that he peddles to the townspeople of Oakdale, Ohio.

It's an atmospheric page turner that middle school readers will love! Best of all, the author's note at the end offers fascinating historical context and adds even more depth to the story.

By Caroline Starr Rose | 1888 Nebraska

An enthralling novel in verse about a girl who is trapped alone during what is now known as "The Great Blizzard of 1888." But be warned - once you start reading, you can't put this one down!

By Jennifer Nielsen | 1893 Lithuania

I love all of Jennifer Nielsen's books, and this one is no exception!

Lithuania is occupied by Russian Cossack soldiers who insist that everything must become Russian. As every part of Lithuanian culture and history is being banned, Audra is caught up in a secret movement to smuggle Lithuanian books to safety.

It's a page-turning book about a little known time and place in history.

By Caroline Starr Rose | 1897 Alaska

Outstanding historical fiction that had us racing to the end!

The story follows two brothers leaving behind a difficult home situation to join the stampede of people heading to Alaska looking for gold. It's an exciting survival story and my middle school kids loved every page.

By Gary D. Schmidt | 1912 Maine

Like most of Schmidt's books, this is a powerful and emotional read. I knew nothing about the tragic destruction of the Malaga Island community until I read this book.

When Turner Buckminster moves to Phippsburg, Maine, he has a difficult time making friends as the new preacher's son until he meets Lizzie, a Black girl from a community of escaped slaves on Malaga Island. But the people in Phippsburg aren't happy about Turner and Lizzie's friendship and racist town elders want to get rid of the entire Malaga island community.

By Avi | 1912 Poland (World War I)

An excellent and devastating look at the effects of war in a Lord of the Flies style tale.

As World War I reaches a tiny Russian occupied Polish village, seven boys start their own deadly war to be the king of their group. Stealing military buttons from the bodies of dead soldiers might seem like a game at first, but it has truly devastating results.

By Jennifer Nielsen | 1914 Europe (World War I)

In this WWI story, five teenagers from across Europe (Austria, Germany, France, England, and Russia) face a number of challenges. As the war rages around them, their lives all intersect in powerful ways. Nielsen writes excellent historical fiction!

By Kirby Larson | 1918 Montana

If you loved Little House on the Prairie and Caddie Woodlawn, you'll love this story about a 16-year-old girl homesteading on her own in Montana. With World War I, Spanish Influenza, and the the first Model T's replacing covered wagons, this is a wonderful historical fiction read for middle school.

By Natasha Farrant | 1919 England & France (World War I)

I just finished reading this aloud with my kids and found it absolutely charming. Sam and Ben were orphans until a kind older gentleman adopted them and raised them as his own on a narrowboat docked in an English village. But after Sam is injured as a soldier in the war, Ben's father leaves him behind to go visit Sam at a French field hospital. During the visit the hospital is bombed. Ben's father is found dead, but Sam is missing. Though everyone presumes Sam is also dead, Ben is decides to go find out for himself. He is accompanied by a fellow orphan, Lotti, who wants to escape her cruel uncle and is hoping to solve a mystery of her own in France.

By Avi | 1925 Colorado

When the rural one-room schoolhouse closes, 14-year-old Ida Bidson loses her chance at taking her final exams and qualifying to go on to high-school and eventually fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. She decides she's not going to give up and she opens a secret school, against the hardhearted school board's wishes, to continue educating the rural kids like herself that want a chance to learn.

By Lauren Wolk | 1925 Cape Cod

A suspenseful novel from a masterful storyteller. 12-year-old Crow was found adrift in a small boat on the shore of a tiny island off Cape Cod just hours after she was born. Osh, the man who rescued her, took her in and along with his neighbor, Miss Maggie, raised Crow with love, even if they are isolated on the island.

One night Crow sees a mysterious fire across the water on an abandoned island and she digs to find out more, she triggers a dangerous chain of events.

It's excellent historical fiction for middle school about the very real leprosy colony on Penikese Island.

By Laura Marx Fitzgerald | 1929 New York City

A mystery set in NYC during the roaring twenties! I tore through this one.

When 13 year old Martha is expelled from Catholic school for questioning the Adam and Eve narrative, her Irish-immigrant mother decides to punish Martha with employment as a kitchen maid in the Fifth Avenue mansion where she herself works as housekeeper. But Martha quickly realizes that there's something fishy going on with the lady of the house who is presumed mad and kept locked in her bedroom. Luckily, Martha is intent on figuring it out.

This is a enthralling look at the sexism of the era and includes lot's of fun roaring twenties details. It had me on the edge of my seat.

By Gennifer Choldenko | 1935 Alcatraz Island

A Newbery Honor book and an excellent coming of age story about a 12-year-old boy who moves to Alcatraz Island when his dad takes a job as a prison guard.

By Pam Munoz Ryan | 1930s Mexico/California

In 1930 Esperanza is living a privileged life on a successful ranch in Mexico. But after her father dies, she and her mother are forced to leave for California where they find work on a farm, a stark contrast to their former life. It's a phenomenal book that takes on the history of the Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the "voluntary repatriation" that sent nearly half a million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans back to Mexico in the 1930s.

By Sharon M. Draper | 1932 North Carolina

Set in the segregated South, Stella and her brother witness the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross one night and set off a chain of events that effect their entire community. This is an eye-opening account of the Jim Crow South.

By Lauren Wolk | 1934 Maine

This is a beautiful book about a family that loses everything in the Great Depression and moves to the woods to start over living on the land. But just after they get established on their new homestead, an accident happens and the father lapses into a coma, leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves.

By Karen Hesse | 1934 Oklahoma

My daughter just read this novel in verse for her middle school English class and couldn't stop talking about it. It's a brutal and devastating story about a young girl living through the horrors of the Dust Bowl and the great Depression.

By Christopher Paul Curtis | 1936 Michigan

Deza and her family are struggling through the Depression in Gary, Indiana. The one thing they have going for them is their strong family bond. But when Deza's dad, Mr. Malone, returns to his hometown in Flint, Michigan, the family finds the separation too hard and go after him to find a new home too. It's a phenomenal look at the true impact of the Depression.

By Claire Vanderpool | 1936 Kansas

Abilene Tucker has been sent by train to Manifest, Kansas to stay with her father's childhood friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. It looks like it's going to be a boring summer in a run down town when Abilene discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos and old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. Abilene and her new friends in Manifest spend the rest of the summer trying to solve the mystery and figure out what role her father played in it all.

This Newbery Award winner touches on a lot of history including World War I and the 1918 flu epidemic. It's a wonderful read!

By Alan Gratz | 1939 Poland (World War II)

This is based on the true story of Yanek Gruener who was 10 years old when the German army invaded Poland and trapped him and his family in the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. He survived 10 different concentration camps during the war and the experiences shared in the book come directly from his life story. It's a moving and powerful story about the horrors of war and genocide.

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley | World War II England

This is a hall of fame favorite book at my house - we've read it multiple times and highly recommend it!

Ada has a club foot that was never treated and is hidden away by her cruel and embarrassed mother, who only cares for Ada's younger brother Jamie. When the war escalates and they begin to evacuate children out of London, Ada's mother only plans to send Jamie to safety. Determined to get away, Ada follows Jamie to the country where the two children are housed with a reluctant guardian who is grieving the death of a beloved friend.

There are two books in this series and both are incredible stories of bravery, hope, and love.

By Kate Albus | World War II England

This is a perfectly charming book about three orphaned siblings who are evacuated to the countryside during the war but hope to find adoptive parents. They are placed in a series of unfortunate situations before they find a savior in the local librarian.

By Eugene Yelchin | 1940's Moscow

This is an excellent book about the Stalinist era and the legacy of fear it created for generations. I've read several of Yelchin's books and I've loved learning more about Russian history.

By Susan Hood | 1940 England

This is a fantastic novel in verse about a luxury ocean liner that was taking 90 boys and girls away from the bombing in London to safety in Canada. However, on route the ship was torpedoed and six boys have to survive five days at sea on a lifeboat.

This little known true story makes for a gripping read that will have you turning pages at full speed!

By Sheila Turnage | 1942 North Carolina

This World War II novel is about a group of 12-year-old kids that form a club called the Dime Novel Kids to solve mysteries. As WWII looms closer to their little island, what began as a fun pastime turns into a real spy adventure.

By Alan Gratz | 1943 Germany

This is a well-researched and fascinating story about the Hitler Youth during World War II. You can't go wrong with an Alan Gratz book!

By Lauren Wolk | 1943 Pennsylvania

This is a superb middle school novel! While World War II rages on other continents, in rural Pennsylvania Annabelle is in the middle of her own battle with a cruel bully. It's a beautiful story and a great discussion starter.

By Ellen Klages | 1943 Los Alamos, New Mexico

11-year-old Dewey was living with her grandmother in St. Louis, but after her grandmother has a stroke, Dewey is sent to live with her dad in Los Alamos, New Mexico where he is working on a top secret "gadget" for the war effort.

We loved reading this book about the kids in the Los Alamos community during the war. It's a different perspective than most WWII books for kids.

By Alan Gratz | 1944 D-Day Europe

I raced through this fast paced story about six different D-Day operations that all connect at the end of the book. I can't recommend this book enough!

By Cynthia Kadohata | Post WWII Japan

After spending years imprisoned in a Japanese-American internment camp, the war finally ends and 12-year-old Hanako and her family are sent back to Japan. They go to live with Hanako's grandparents in a small village just outside of Hiroshima. The country is starving, Hiroshima was ravaged by the bomb, and Hanako's family has lost everything they built for themselves in America.

It sounds like it would be a depressing story, but I loved this beautiful book about a journey through intense hardship. This is one of the best children's books I've ever read.

By Lesa Cline-Ransome | 1946 Chicago

This historical fiction tells an engaging personal story from the Great Migration. After Langston's mother dies, his father decides it's time for them to leave Alabama and head to Chicago where Black people have more hope of escaping discrimination. But being a country boy in the big city makes Langston a target for schoolyard bullies. He finds refuge in the library where a kind librarian introduces him to the poetry of Langston Hughes.

By Veera Hiranandani | 1947 India/Pakistan

I didn't know anything at all about the partition between India and Pakistan when India received independence from Britain. I learned so much from this book and thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters.

Nisha and her twin brother, Amil, are turning 12 at the same time their country is split in two. When it divides Nisha's Hindu family is on the Muslim side and they have to make a dangerous trek to the border to find safety and hopefully a new home.

By Julie Lee | 1950 Korea

This story is based in part on the author's mother's experiences in North Korea and I love that the book includes photos, maps, and an excellent author's note about the history.

In the summer of 1950, the 38th parallel separating North and South Korea is closing. The Pak family decides to escape from the North by walking hundreds of miles to the city of Busan in the South Korea. As if that wasn't going to be difficult enough, an incendiary bomb explodes their plans and Sora and her younger brother have to travel 300 miles in a warzone on their own.

By Jennifer L. Holm | 1953 New Jersey

I loved this book about the 1950's - it really captures both the good and the bad of the time period. 12-year-old Penny is ready for a fun summer with her cousin Frankie - they just have to convince Penny's mom that they can't catch polio at the public pool. But the summer isn't all fun and games because it's post WWII America and Penny's Italian-American family has to deal with a lot of prejudice and convince people that they aren't the enemy.

Make sure you read the fantastic author's note at the end for more historical background about WWII, internment camps, and 1950's America.

By Charlene Willing McManis & Traci Sorell | 1954 California

I bet you don't know that much about tribal termination and the devastating legacy it's had on America's Indigenous peoples. This is an excellent book to begin learning more.

After the Umpqua tribe is terminated in 1954, Regina's family can't afford their own land on their former reservation in Oregon any more. Regina's father signs them up for the Indian Relocation Program and moves the entire family to California where Regina and her little sister have to start a new life in South Central Los Angeles.

By Kristin Levine | 1958 Arkansas

My oldest daughter (in high school now) read this in middle school and still talks about the impact it had on her. It's an excellent book about what it was like in Little Rock after the integration of the city's public schools.

By Christopher Paul Curtis | 1963 Alabama

This is a must read book! The Watson family is driving from Michigan to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960's. What they don't realize is that they are heading towards the infamous bombing of a church. This book is both hilarious and poignant.

By Eugene Yelchin | 1960s -1970s Soviet Union

This is a memoir, not fiction, but I'm including it here because it reads like fiction and is a very compelling story about what it was like growing up under the iron curtain in the Soviet Union. This is laugh-out-loud funny even as it shares a heartbreaking history.

By Jennifer A. Nielsen | 1961 Berlin

This is a gripping story about a family that is separated overnight in Berlin when the wall is erected. I loved listening to this one on audiobook.

By Gary D. Schmidt | 1968 United States

This is one of my favorite books and one that I always recommend to everyone!

Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood is convinced his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. The Vietnam War is causing turmoil everywhere, and Holling's family is struggling at home. But, when Mrs. Baker gives Holling the assignment to study Shakespeare with her every Wednesday, Holling finds something to hold on to as everything around him is falling apart.

By Veera Hiranandani | 1967 Connecticut

This is powerful historical fiction about how middle schooler Ariel Goldberg's life is changed when her older sister elopes with a young man from India just after the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision. I loved it!

By Rita Williams-Garcia | 1968 California

Delphine and her two sisters are spending the summer in Oakland with their mother who left them years earlier. It seems like it's going to be a rough summer until the girls start attending a day camp run by the Black Panthers and the summer gets crazy. This is a really fun book that paints a vibrant picture of the time period.

By Stacy Nockowitz | 1970s Atlantic City

I don't know why but I love movies, shows, and books about gangsters. I was delighted to discover that this book about a Jewish family that a runs a struggling hotel in Atlantic City is filled with gangsters, dead bodies, and even a little bit of romance. It's exciting and fascinating and tells a wonderful story about being Jewish and American in the 1970s.

By Thanha Lai | 1975 Alabama

This is a moving novel in verse about the author's childhood experience of escaping Saigon and coming to live in Alabama in the 1970s.

By Firoozeh Dumas | 1970s California

I read this author's adult memoir and loved it. I was so happy to discover that she also wrote this book for kids, and even happier when my kids loved it too!

Zomorod, who goes by Cindy to her friends at school, is finally feeling like she's fitting in at her California middle school. But, when political upheaval in her home country, Iran, reaches the United States, she finds more big obstacles to fitting in. This story is told with a lot of humor and it's a very authentic look at an immigrant experience.

By Rajani LaRocca | 1983 Boston

This is a gorgeous novel in verse about Reha, an Indian American girl who feels split between her traditional Indian home life and her American school life. When Reha's mother is diagnosed with cancer, Reha decides that she will be the perfect daughter and maybe her mother will heal. This is a really touching coming-of-age story.

By Linda Sue Park | 1985/2008 Sudan

Set in Sudan, this book tells two alternating stories about a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl is making her long walk to water, a two hour trip from her home that she makes twice a day. The boy is one of the "lost boys" of Sudan who had to flee their homes during a civil war. It's a short but very impactful read!

By Erin Entrada Kelly | 1986 Delaware

Three seventh grader siblings are navigating a difficult situation at home as well as their own personal struggles in 1986 as the country is preparing for the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. The author has a real talent for creating complex, realistic characters that kids will relate to. This is an excellent book!

By Anne Blankman | 1986 Soviet Union (Kiev)

I loved this book about two girls who live behind the iron curtain and survive the Chernobyl disaster. The girls are enemies at school until both of their fathers are killed in history's worst nuclear disaster. It's a really intense, but wonderful, book and it offers some interesting context to current events.

By Alan Gratz | 9/11/2001 New York City

I listened to this 9/11 novel on audiobook and was blown away by how good it is! This is one of those books I want everyone to read.